Report

The properties of a report object are:

Result buffer

The result buffer is used to store the report results of one report in pages. Its default size 4 indicates 4 pages of a report results have been allocated to the result buffer. The other pages will be stored on disk. If you have enough memory, you can increase the result buffer size to store more pages of the report result. By doing this, you will achieve better performance.

Applet setting

Reports are developed in JReport Designer and saved as .cls file. Report files and their associated resource files (.cat and .fml files) are published to JReport Enterprise Server for running reports in client/server mode. Once the report repository is properly set up, it can be accessed with any web browser, JReport Viewer or Client Viewer Bean. Also, you can choose to export the report results to a printer, a PDF or TXT file, etc.

If the report results have been specified to be transferred and viewed in the applet format, you can change the display area by inputting the correct number in the Report Inspector. Alternatively, you can edit the applet file directly in a text editor.

• Applet Height: Refers to the height of an applet.
• Applet Width: Refers to the width of an applet.

See also Exporting to Applet for more information about this format.

Setup callback or exit functions

During the running of a report, the display of the report is done by JReport Engine. You have no control over this. However, JReport functionality allows you to interact with this mechanism at 3 points:

• After the parameter has been initiated.
• At the point JReport Engine is about to run the report. If you have parameters, the parameter at this stage will have been initiated, and you have given the parameter value.
• Immediately after JReport Engine has run the report result.

At any or all of these three points you have the option of executing a class of your choice. JReport has developed three exit functions for you: After Init Parameter, Before Run and After Run. These functions enable you to develop an action to be called before, after or during the process of running a report. Your applications will return true or false. For true, JReport Engine will go on running. For false, JReport Engine will stop at this point.

Import JavaScript

If you want to develop functions in your own JS file, you can use this property to support the control objects in DHTML. Your own JS file should be located in <server_install_root>\public_html\javascript\dhtml, and it will work together with the API.js file in the same folder, but with a higher priority if both of them contain the same functions.

To use this property, simply set the property value to the name of your JS file.

For example, you have a JavaScript file named "user1.js" which contains the following function:

function promptMassage(message)
  {
  alert(message);
  }
window.promptMassage("test")

In this example, set the property to "user1.js" in order to apply functions defined in the file.

Precision Sensitive

High/low precision

When exporting a report to various formats, the text of some formats will be exported with higher precision, such as PDF, RTF, Excel, Fax, PS and when printing a report. Thus the report results layouts of these formats are different from the other formats, such as HTML, DHTML, Applet, XML, and Text. We distinguish the two types of layouts as PDF view and HTML view.

JReport provides two precision levels: high and low. High precision means that the report layout will be in the PDF view (the report layout looks like the PDF file). Low precision indicates that the report layout is in the HTML view (the report layout looks like the HMTL file).

High precision provides better layout but slower efficiency while low precision brings higher performance but maybe poorer visual effect. If low precision can make the report a well look, it is reasonable to apply low precision for at the same time faster performance is guaranteed.

About the property

Precision may result in text cut issue in report layout. This property decides whether the report can be applied to specified precision settings.

JReport has better performance when precision insensitive than when sensitive for it is unnecessary for the engine to run a report again since precision does not changes.

When the property is set to true, specified precision settings can be applied to the report when exporting it to different formats. In JReport Designer, report designer can specify precision level for different export formats using the Advanced Export Settings dialog. In JReport Enterprise Server, administrators can go to JReport Administration Page > Configuration > Export > Layout Precision to specify precision settings.

If you do not care visual effect of the report, leave the value of the property to be false as default and let JReport deal with the precision.

When the property is set to false, any specified precision setting for exporting formats does not work in the report. Instead the contextual precision level is applied when viewing/running/exporting the report. The context precision depends on the precision level applied when viewing/running/exporting the report last time. That is to say, the current runtime uses the precision setting applied in last runtime. When it is the first time to view/run/export the report in a format, there are default initial precision settings available for adoption since there is no context for the first runtime. The following table lists the default initial precision settings for different formats:

Excel Buffer Size

The Excel buffer is used to store the report results in Excel buffer sheets when exporting the result in Excel format. Its default size is 1, which indicates 1 sheet of the report results is allocated to the result buffer. The other sheets will be stored on disk. If you have enough memory, you can increase the Excel buffer size to store more sheets of the Excel-format report result. By doing this, you will achieve better performance.

Columned

Right after you set the property to true from false each time:

• Recalculate the values of the following Excel properties of all objects in the report and reset the values to the defaults.
  • Column Index/Row Index
  • Column Number/Row Number. The properties are for images and UDOs.
  • Top Attach Column/Top Attach Row/Bottom Attach Column/Bottom Attach Row. The properties are for drawing objects.

  The default values are calculated based on the position of each object in the report. There is an exception: if both the Export to Excel and Export to CSV properties of an object are false, the values of these properties will not be recalculated and will be preserved as before.

The property controls two things when it is true:

• Use the columned method to export the report to Excel when the option Normal Formatting in the Export to Excel dialog is checked.

• You can specify values for the Excel properties mentioned above of an object instead of using the default.

When the property is false:

• The specified values for the above Excel properties of objects in the report are not applied when exporting to CSV or Excel.

Style Group for Exporting

Pre-set a style group to the report for each export format. The style group specified for export formats has higher priority than that specified for the Style Group property in the Report Inspector. However, if you do not specify a style group for an export format, when you export the report to the format it will take the value specified for the Style Group property.

The specified style group here is applied in the following cases: when export the report in JReport Designer or in JReport Web, and when run/advanced run the report or schedule to publish it to version/disk/e-mail/FTP in JReport Enterprise Server.

When viewing a report by clicking the View tab next to the Design tab in JReport Designer, the value specified for the Style Group property is applied. In the view mode, if you further preview the view result in different formats or export it to different formats, the preview/export result will take the style group of the view result, and the Style Group for Exporting property will not take effect.